Born on April 21, 1939 of French and Spanish heritage, the New York City born Reni Santoni (aka Reni Sands) started his career off in entertainment as a comedy writer. He moved in front of the camera in the early 60s and was performing episodic TV drama ("East Side/West Side," "The Trials of O'Brien," "Hawk") when, out of the blue, director Carl Reiner thought enough of Santoni's talents to cast the young actor, an unknown, in his semi-autobiography film Enter Laughing (1967).
生于纽约市，成长于明尼阿波利斯。1957年戏剧本科毕业后进入电影界。1959年以《年轻的费城人》获奥斯卡最佳男配角提名。70年代末期以后主要活跃在电视界。其主要影片有《豪勇七蛟龙》、《雷玛根桥之战》、《火烧摩天楼》、《暗杀目标》、《三角部队》等。
